Mike relm

Opening dj

You have new Picture Mail!

Ham Radio Bits...

Carolina Windom Antenna
* http://www.hamuniverse.com/k4iwlnewwindom.html

Horizontal Wire Loop antennas (basically 2lambda, at least 0.10 lambda up)
* http://www.cebik.com/wire/horloop.html

Icom IC-718 transiever ($550)
* http://www.icomamerica.com/products/amateur/718/
* http://www.associatedradio.com/radios/icom/ic-718page.html
* http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/947

Note - the no-code technician class has phone (voice) privileges on 10 meter (28.0 Mhz); and CW (morse code) on 80, 40, and 15 meters. To get the popular 20 meter band, or phone (voice) privs on lower bands, you need the new General class licence. 10 meters is dead right now - we are at the bottom of the sunspot cycle - but by 2011, it should be outstanding for DX skip. An E-W facing Windom antenna should do great on 10.
* http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/Hambands_color.pdf

Extreme Instability - Midwest Storm Photos

Extreme Instability has years worth of good storm photos - supercells, tornados, lightning, etc.

team meeting in reston

The Power of One

The Power of One

by Michael Cloud

"One is four times as powerful as two," said Karl Hess. "One is nine times as powerful as three. One is sixteen times as powerful as four."

This was not math class. Nor business. It was speechwriting.

And master speechwriter Karl Hess was teaching me. One on one.

Karl Hess was best known as Barry Goldwater's speechwriter. But he was far more than that. He was a journalist, a gunrunner, businessman, Republican activist, New Left activist, Libertarian activist, author and speechwriter.

But on this day, Karl was showing me how to prune my speech into something elegant, simple, and direct.

I was writing a speech for a client. It had clever phrases and interesting insights. But it just didn't work. Something was wrong. So I called Karl Hess, and asked for help.

"You're making six points in this speech," he said. "The audience will applaud. They'll remember that the speaker was smart and deep, but they won't remember one single thing your client says.

"Six points is too many. Too much. Every great speech has one point. One assertion. One idea. One important and unforgettable idea."

I followed Karl's advice, re-wrote it as he advised, and my client gave an unforgettable speech. The audience loved it. More than a dozen organizations invited him to give the speech to their members. He grew into a local celebrity. And he sent me eight paying customers who wanted me to write them an unforgettable speech like his. A speech people talk about.

Karl Hess taught me the power of one.

In speeches. Essays. In conversations.

Each of Aesop's fables had one point. Not two. Not three. One lesson.

The parables of Jesus. One moral. Not two. Not three. One maxim.

Allegories. Myths. Teaching tales. Each offers one truth. Not two. Not three. One.

------------
Excerpted from the Liberator Online

Ham Radio Logging Software for Macintosh

Really cool software to log distance contacts on HAM radio.

Ham Radio Logging Software for Macintosh

Bit expensive - $95 for the base software, another $34 for the 3-D visualization plugin . . .

My phone saga

I have, or rather, had, a corporate demo phone. One of those nice things with the full keyboard and access to all the corporate e-mail systems, etc. However, on Tuesday the account appears to have been terminated. No one knows for sure why, and the billing system where it was terminated has nothing noted other than the string, "TERMINATED".

So, I figure I'll get it turned back on . . .

We had one lady who handled all those accounts. But, she left suddenly. We'll call her ALy (Account LadY).

I contacted the ALy's manager - she said contact her Director, who owns the demo account.

I contacted the Director - he said contact Employee Accounts.

I contacted Employee Accounts, and they confirmed that the line was terminated, and they were unable to modify the account because the account is a Type Z Demo. The account needs to be turned back on in order to work again, and suggested I contact Business telecare.

I called Business telecare and they cannot turn the account back on, They suggested Corporate Activations.

Corporate Activations said that type-Z demo accounts needed to be handled by upper management in our team, who could contact our indirect sales rep to have the account reprovisioned.

So, I'm back to the Director. And I still don't have a phone. At least not one that the work people are going to get the number to.

Such is life in a big company.

I wonder if our retail customers get any better response?

flood at the school

Yes, that is the parking lot to the elementary school. 4" deep in water. Nice bit of a storm we had overnight.